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Cooking Tips
Freezing Vegetables

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[ Freezing Vegetables | Vegetable Preparation | Approximate Yields ]

Vegetable Preparation

Artichoke, Globe

Select those with uniformly green color, compact globes, and tightly adhering leaves. Size has little to do with quality or flavor. Remove outer bracts until light yellow or white bracts are reached. Cut off tops fo bud and trim to a cone. Wash the hearts in cold water as soon as trimming is completed. Drain.

Scald 7 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Artichoke, Jerusalem

Handle like Irish potatoes.

Asparagus

Select young tender tips. Wash thoroughly and sort into sizes. Trim stalks by removing scales with a sharp knife. Cut into even lengths to fit freezer containers. Scald small spears 1 1/2 minutes, medium spears 2 minutes, and large spears 3 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag, Can-or-Freez jar, or Ball plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Beans, Snap

Select young tender pods when the seed is first formed. Wash in cold water, snip, and cut 2" to 4" lengths or lengths to fit freezer container. The longer cuts are best quality. Scald 3 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag, or Can-or-Freez jar, or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Beans, Lima

Harvest while the seed is in the green stage. Wash in cold water, shell, wash, and sort according to size. Scald small beans 1 minute, medium beans 2 minutes, and large beans 3 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Beans, Soy

Harvest when the beans are just newly formed and in the green stage. Wash in cold water. Boil pods 5 minutes. Cool, squeeze the beans out of the pod, rinse and drain. Package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Beets

Select deep, uniformly-red, tender, young beets. Remove tops, wash and cook until tender. Cool and remove skins. Leave whole, quarter, slice or dice. Package as as lima beans.

Broccoli

Select firm, young, tender stalks with compact heads. Wash and remove leaves and woody portions. Separate heads into convenient-size sections and immerse in brine (1 cup salt to 1 gallon water) for 30 minutes to remove insects. Rinse and drain. Scald medium-size sections 3 minutes and large size sections 4 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Brussels Sprouts

Select dark green, compact heads. Remove coarse outer leaves, wash and sort into small, medium, and large sizes. Scald small size 3 minutes, medium size 4 minutes, and large size 5 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Cabbage

Select solid, green heads with crisp leaves. Wash, discard the coarse outer leaves and cut the head into wedges or shred rather coarsely. Scald wedges 3 minutes; shredded cabbage 1 1/2 minutes. Cool, drain, and package the in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze. Frozen cabbage is not suitable for use in coleslaw or salad.

Carrots

Select young, tender, coreless, medium length carrots. Wash, scrape, wash, and dice or section lengthwise. Small carrots may be frozen whole. Scald carrot sections 3 minutes and whole carrots 5 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Cauliflower

Choose compact heads. Trim, break into flowerets of uniform size, about 1 inch across; wash carefully and drain. Prepare and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Corn

Select only tender, freshly-gathered corn in the milk stage. Husk and trim the ears, remove silks and wash.

Corn-on-the-cob:
Scald ears 1 1/2" in diameter 6 minutes; 2" in diameter 8 minutes, and larger ears 10 minutes. Cool, drain, and wrap individually tightly in moisture-vapor-proof film and place in Ball plastic freezer bag. Seal, label, and freeze.

Whole grain cut corn:
Scald 5 or 6 minutes, depending on size of ears. Cool, drain, and cut from cob. Package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Cream style corn:
Scald ears the same as for whole grain. Cool and drain. Cut kernel tips and scrape rest of kernels from cob. Package in Can-or-Freez jar or Ball plastic freezer box, leaning 1/4" head space. Seal, label, and freeze.

Pre-cooked corn:
Cut and scrape the corn from the cob without blanching. Put small amount of water in sauce pan, add cut corn, and cook over low heat (stirring constantly) for about 10 minutes or until it thickens. Pour in a pan, set in ice water to cool. Do not cook more than 3 quarts at a time. Package same as cream style corn.

Eggplant

Harvest before seeds become mature and when color is uniformly dark. Wash, peel, and slice 1/3" thick. Prepare quickly; just enough eggplant for one scalding at a time. Scald 4 minutes in 1 gallon boiling water containing 4 1/2 teaspoons citric acid or 1/2 cup lemon juice. Cool, drain, and package the in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

For frying:
Pack the drained slices with freezer wrap between slices. Seal, label, and freeze.

Greens

Pick young, tender, green leaves. Wash thoroughly and cut off woody stems. Scald 2 minutes and avoid matting of leaves. Cool, drain, and package same as cream style corn.

Herbs, Garden

Many garden herbs may be frozen. Wash, drain, but do not scald. Wrap a few springs or leaves in freezer film and place in a Ball plastic freezer bag. Seal, label, and freeze. These usually are not suitable for garnish, as the frozen product becomes limp when it thaws. It can be chopped and used in cooked dishes.

Kohlrabi

Select stems when fully grown but tender. Trim top and bottom, wash, peel off the tough bark and wash. Since the tender centers crosswise 1/4" thick. The small roots maybe left whole. Scald slices 2 minutes; whole ones 3 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Okra

Select young tender pods. Wash, and separate into two sizes: 4" or under, and larger. Remove stems at the end of the seed cells. Scald the small pods 3 minutes, cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze. Scaled the larger pods 5 minutes. Cool, cut into 1" lengths and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Onions

Choose mature bulbs and clean as for eating. Scald for 3 to 7 minutes, or until the center is heated. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze. These are suitable for cooking only.

Young green onions may be washed and chopped for salads and sandwiches and frozen without scalding. They will not be crisp. These will be highly flavored but may be slightly tough.

Parsnips

Choose smooth, firm roots free from woodiness. Remove tops, wash thoroughly and peel. Slice, dice, or cut lengthwise. Scald three minutes, cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Peanuts, Green in the Shell

Select fully mature peanuts, thoroughly wash and clean. Leave in shell. Scald 10 minutes, cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Peanuts, Shelled

Select fully mature peanuts, shell, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze. These peanuts may be removed from the freezer, thawed, then used as fresh shelled peanuts in any recipe.

Peas, Green or Garden

Harvest when pods are filled with young tender peas that have not become starchy. Wash, shell, wash, scald 2 minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Peas, Field (Blackeyed)

Select pods when seeds are tender and barely grown. Wash, shell, and discard over mature and immature seeds an those injured by insects. Wash and scald smaller sizes one minute and larger sizes two minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Peppers, Sweet

Select crisp, tender, green or bright red pods. Wash, cut out stems and remove seeds. Freeze whole, as halves, strips or diced. Do not scald. Package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Peppers, Pimientos

Select well-ripened pods of deep red color. Wash, cut out stems and remove seeds. Peel by roasting in oven 400 degrees F. or cover with water and oil until peppers are tender. Cool and package same as cream style corn.

Peppers, Hot

Select crisp, tender, green or bright red pods. Wash and drain. Package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Potatoes, Irish

Select smooth new potatoes directly from the garden. Wash thoroughly, peel or scrape, wash, scald 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Potatoes, Sweet

Allow potatoes to cure for at least one week. Wash thoroughly, drain, and sort for sizes.

Baked:
Grease surface with fresh cooking oil, bake in a pre-heated oven (350 degrees F.) until slightly soft. Cool. Wrap potatoes individually in freezer film or foil and place in Ball plastic freezer bag. Seal, label, and freeze.

Sliced:
Preheat the unpeeled potatoes in water at 130 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Peel and cut lengthwise into 1/2" slices. Scald 3 minutes in boiling syrup (made with 1 1/2 cups water to 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice -- prepare enough syrup to cover the slices). Cool quickly (slices and syrup). Pack closely in Can-or-Freez jars or Ball plastic freezer boxes. Cover with syrup, leaving head space. Seal, label, and freeze.

Puree:
Bake the potatoes in a pre-heated over (350 degrees F.) until soft. Remove peel and put potatoes through a food mill. For each 5 pounds of pureed potatoes, add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cold water, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Cool and pack closely in Can-or-Freez jars or Ball plastic freezer boxes, leaving head space. Seal, label, and freeze.

Pumpkins

Pick at optimum maturity, indicated by good color and stem that breaks loose easily. Wash thoroughly, peel, remove seeds, cut into sections, steam until soft, put through a food mill, and add 1 part sugar to 6 parts puree. Cool and package same as pureed sweet potatoes (sugar may be omitted).

Squash, Summer

Choose young squash with tender skin. Wash, slice, scald three minutes. Cool, drain, and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Precooked:   Wash, slice and cook in a very small amount of water until just tender. Mash. Pour into a bowl, set in ice water to cool quickly. Package same a pureed sweet potatoes.

Squash, Winter

Harvest fully mature squash with a hard rind. Wash, cut in halves and scoop out seeds and membrane. Place cut side down on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F. until tender. Scoop out pulp, put through a food mill, cool, and package same as pureed sweet potatoes.

Tomatoes, Cooked

Select firm, sound, red ripe tomatoes. Wash, core and cook until soft. Put through a food mill, cool and package same as pureed sweet potatoes. Puree may be concentrated by boiling to 1/2 volume; cool and package.

Tomato Juice

Select firm, sound, red ripe tomatoes. Wash, core and cut into pieces. Simmer about 5 minutes, put through a food mill. Cool and package same as pureed sweet potatoes.

Tomatoes, Green Slices

Select firm, sound green tomatoes. Wash, core, and slice 1/4" thick. Pack the slices with freezer wrap between slices. Seal, label, and freeze.

Turnips

Select young, tender turnips. Remove tops, wash, peel, slice, or dice. Scald 3 minutes. Cool and package in Ball plastic freezer bag or Can-or-Freez jar or plastic freezer box. Seal, label, and freeze.

Source: Ball Corporation

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